7 Things that Protect You from the Last Days Onslaught

I want to suggest action steps you can take to help build a wall of protection around your life so you are protected in this last-days environment.

If these action steps are not already established habits in your walk with God, you should begin to implement them immediately to help you stay spiritually garrisoned even in the most troublesome of times.

These action steps are simple, but when acted on consistently, they will produce great power and spare us from all types of troubles that otherwise would invade our lives. Especially in these last days when evil abounds, it is essential that we make these simple elements a rock-solid wall of protection around our lives.

Of course, there are many more beneficial steps you should take to protect your heart and soul. However, these easy steps are a very good starting place to reinforce the spiritual wall of protection you must establish about your life and the lives of your family members in these last of the last days.

1. Pray every morning.

Start your day every morning with prayer as part of a plan to build a wall of protection around your life. In Psalm 5:3, David wrote of his commitment to spend time with God every morning. He said, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

Notice that the last part of that verse says, “…and will look up.” David was surrounded with enemies both inside and outside his home, and he was tempted to struggle emotionally. He knew he needed to start every morning by “looking up,” or things would escalate that could take him down.

Likewise, you need to start every day with the Lord “looking up” — or life will quickly take you down. If you ignore this spiritual principle, you’ll end up troubled, nervous, and worried — and you will lack spiritual power in your life. On the other hand, if you do this, you’ll remain in a state of abiding peace, able to walk through each day in confidence. You’ll know you’ve done what is right, and you’ll experience power to overcome the daily problems you face in life.

You can actually learn to live in a continual state of fellowshipping with the Lord in prayer. Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying always” You may say, “Is that really possible?” Yes, it is, but you must learn to do it. Becoming intentional about beginning each day with prayer confirms that you are serious about your commitment to God. It opens your heart to receive from Him, and it sets the tone for your day as you expect God’s guiding presence and His goodness to manifest in your life.

As you set your heart to begin each day in prayer — and to stay in a prayerful frame of mind the entire day — you’ll find yourself becoming more spiritually attuned to the things around you. A prayerful mindset will heighten and sustain your spiritual sensitivity — which is exactly what you need in these last days.

2. Read the Bible every day.

Make a commitment to read the Bible every day as part of a plan to build a wall of protection around your life. In Psalm 119:105, the psalmist wrote: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” You must determine that the Word of God will be the guiding light that leads you down every path and in every decision you make in life.

God told Joshua in Joshua 1:7: “…Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” According to this verse, a great part of your daily victory depends on you faithfully sticking with the Word of God and not allowing other voices or other ideas to sidetrack you along the way. By taking time to read the Bible and allowing its words to enter into your heart and mind, you give God the ability to do a supernatural work in your heart and to keep your soul free from the enemy’s entrapments.

If you don’t know where to start reading, find a Bible-reading plan to help keep you on track as a type of personal accountability. The Bible will feed you, help you, ensure that you stay on course, and keep your heart soft before the Lord.

I urge you to make God’s Word the highest priority of your life. Put it before your eyes every morning. Let it fill your eyes, flood your mind, touch your emotions, and become your guide. Your life will be strengthened and changed if you will do this.

Hebrews 4:12 reveals the transforming power of God’s Word: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” In these last days, it is vital for you to have the Bible in your heart and at your disposal to successfully defeat the demonic forces that will continually try to accost your mind.

3. Quickly confess sin and receive the cleansing of Jesus’ blood.

Learn to quickly confess sin and receive the cleansing blood of Jesus as part of your strategic plan to build a wall of protection around your life. We all commit sin, some unintentional and, at times, some even intentional. Regardless, as soon as you realize that you’ve done something or meditated on something inappropriate, you must quickly act on First John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Proverbs 28:13 states it clearly: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” When we ignore or try to hide sin, it negatively clogs our spiritual lives and makes us susceptible to the attacks of the enemy. But by quickly confessing sin and submitting to the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood, it keeps us free of self-condemnation and attack and keeps our hearts pliable.

Don’t let your heart become hard by allowing unconfessed sin to build in your soul. Quickly confess sin and submit it to the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. As you do, you’ll immediately receive forgiveness and mercy as the blood of Jesus cleanses you from any act or thought that has grieved the Spirit of God. This is how you stay spiritually free and help your soul stay free in these last days.

4. Put on the whole armor of God.

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” God has provided mighty spiritual weapons for you with which you are to continually arm yourself. Each element of this spiritual armor — the loinbelt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and the lance of prayer and supplication — is a vital, effective, and powerful weapon for you to use every day against the devil’s assaults against you.

So put on the whole armor of God as part of a plan to build a wall of protection around your life. The devil will try to wage attacks against you, but you have at your disposal this full array of spiritual weapons — ready for you to wield and to win the victory every time.

Especially in these last days as spiritual conflicts become more and more intense, you need this God-given spiritual weaponry to enable you to successfully withstand every attack and drive the enemy out of your space. With these “weapons of your warfare” in place (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-5), you are more than able to defeat any foe or demonic stronghold that would challenge your faith!

(To know more about spiritual weapons, I advise you to read my book Dressed To Kill. This book is entirely devoted to the subject of spiritual warfare, including how to use your spiritual weaponry to stay free from every attack of the enemy waged against you.)

5. Make a covenant with your eyes.

Very often, evil finds access into your mind and imagination through your eyes. So make a covenant with your eyes as part of your deliberate plan to build a wall of protection around your life. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.…”

Matthew 6:22 (NLT) says, “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.” If your eyes are focused on what is healthy, it will bring good things into your mind. However, if your eyes are focused on what is unhealthy or foul, those vile things that gained entrance through what you allowed your eyes to see will enter into your mind and affect you negatively.

An ancient saying tells us, “The eye is the window to the soul.” Although this saying is not found in the Bible, it is true that your eyes are the gateway to your mind and imagination and to what positively or negatively affects your thinking.

We are living in the last days, and that, for one thing, means we are living in an environment where wicked things — especially sexually lewd things — are constantly on display before our eyes. If you don’t stop those images from entering your mind, you give the devil a tool to use against you. It is therefore essential that you make a covenant with your eyes, determining that you will not give permission for any wicked thing to be displayed in your sight.

6. Maintain a strong relationship with those to whom you are spiritually accountable.

You need to keep your relationship strong with those to whom you are spiritually accountable. This is a vital part of your plan to build a wall of protection around your life. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Proverbs 24:6 also says, “…In multitude of counsellors there is safety.” According to these verses, a person who has godly counselors in his or her life is a wise person.

The fact is, everyone needs someone to whom he is spiritually accountable and to whom he can turn for counsel in time of need. That person could be your pastor. It could also be someone who is further along in spiritual maturity than you, whose counsel you respect, and who is trusted, confidential, and mature.

In Psalm 54:4, David said, “Behold, God is mine helper: and the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.” Whom do you have in your life who strengthens you in your soul — helping you think right about the situations you’re facing and align your emotions with God’s Word? You need people in your life like that.

There are times we all need someone to speak into our lives who will watch out for our souls. We need these trustworthy individuals who will pray with us, speak the Word to us, be honest and forthright with us, and hold us accountable. This is a healthy ingredient of our lives in God — especially in these last days when the enemy will do all he can to wage warfare against our soul.

By having such people in your life — those with whom you can talk and confide — you are provided a safety net to help you in times of need and to keep you strong. As David said, you need those who “strengthen your soul” during these last days when many will be tempted to fall into various temptations.

7. Regularly attend a church that teaches from the Bible.

You need to regularly attend a church where you will be encouraged from the Bible and strengthened in the presence of the Holy Spirit as you worship God with other believers. This is another essential part of a plan to build a wall of protection around your life.

Psalm 119:28 marvelously depicts the powerful effect of God’s Word to divinely energize a person who otherwise would feel physically or emotionally weak. In fact, when the psalmist was confronted with his own humanity, he knew that the Word was the ingredient that would strengthen him to rise above it. That is why he said, “...Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.”

The importance of finding a local body where you can receive a steady, healthy diet of God’s Word cannot be underestimated in your life. In fact, the amount of spiritual fire you have burning at your core is directly related to how much of God’s Word is planted in your heart — and where you regularly attend church is a vital factor in that equation.

Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for every problem you will ever face. The Bible can bring new life to your heart, establish order in your mind, and refresh your soul when unruly emotions or tormenting thoughts threaten to disturb your peace. It is essential that you allow God to lead you to a company of other believers where you can receive a strong foundation of God’s Word and commit to living out its truths within the spiritual family where He has placed you.

When you hear the Scriptures expounded by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and take it by faith into your heart, its supernatural power is unleashed. And when that happens, every part of your being — your heart, will, thoughts, emotions, and memories — are all touched by God’s power.

Satan knows the life-transforming power that is locked inside the Bible. That’s why he fights so hard to get believers and churches to back away from it, trying to convince them to water down, modify, or even eliminate the Bible from its critical role in the life of every local body. (I discuss this demonic attack in-depth in my book How To Keep Your Head on Straight in a World Gone Crazy. I urge you to obtain that book and read it.)

So I want to ask you — are you attending a church where the emphasis is on a solid foundation of Bible truth? In a world where deception is proliferating and growing darker all the time, this issue is more important than ever. You must fortify yourself and your family by sitting under preaching and teaching of the Word that encourages you, confronts you, and helps you conform to the likeness of Jesus Christ.

If you are currently attending a church where the Word of God is not taught in power, or where a weakened and watered-down version of the Bible is preached, I urge you to begin looking for a pastor who will feed you the Bible in a way that leads to personal transformation. In these last of the last days, you must have the spiritual strength and vital support found in a church that is led by a pastor and filled with believers committed to biblical truth.